September 2025 - A Summary of Sightings from the Abingtons

A Summary of Sightings for the Abingtons in September 2025 can be found by clicking the link below:

SEPTEMBER 2025 SUMMARY

Hairy Shield Bugs a plenty

18th September 2025 - one hot sunny afternoon, Andy and Polly M noticed a very large number of beetle-like insects emerging up the fence from behind the lavender plants. Why remains unclear, but closer inspection showed these were similar in colour and patterning, but varied greatly in size. It turns out these are the various instars (or lifecycle stages) of Hairy Shield Bug (or Sloe Bug) nymphs - which start small and teardrop shaped, and gradually grow and moult into the large more typical Shield Bug shape, although all these are nymphs, or 'youngsters', with no adults being seen.

Interestingly, in amongst these were also a different type of oval fly-like insect - small in number and similar in colouration to the Shield Bugs, but clearly different. Whilst we are not sure what these are, it's possible these are some sort of predatory insect, such as an Assassin Bug species, which prey on many species, including Shield Bugs nymphs.

One small patch of the many smaller Hairy Shield Bug nymphs, 

but including a few other 'winged' species

Later stage Hairy Shield Bug instar, and several smaller earlier instars,

as well as a similar coloured winged species

Late-stage Hairy Shield Bug nymph

Life cycle stages (from ukwildlife.net)

Rivercare - September results

15th September 2025 - the Rivercare undertook their last sampling of the year, when rvier levels at the ford were still very low. The sample revealed a relatively low count, but a look back at previous years in September indicated this was fairly typical.

A few Olive larva were seen, as were a few Mayfly larva. Both Caseless and Cased Caddisfly larvae were found, as were quite a few small Gammarus (freshwater shrimp). Three Bullhead fish were found, and a few Angler's Curse larvae.

Olive larva

Caseless Caddisfly larva

Cased Caddisfly larva (head and legs can just be seen top right)

Mayfly larve

Angler's Curse larva

Bullhead

Hummingbird Hawkmoth

15th September 2025 - Suzan S reported seeing Hummingbird Hawkmoth in her garden on the LSA, and managed to get a nice photo.

European Hornet

10th September 2025 - as is not unusual around this time of year, a number of people have been reporting hornets in their gardens. These are European Hornet, which look similar to a large Common Wasp (not the slimmer and less brightly coloured Asian Hornet), and David F found a nest in Sluice Woods.

Painted Lady butterfly

7th September 2025 - Andy M spotted this rather splendid Painted Lady butterfly along the 'hairdresser's path' on Granta Park.

Pied Wagtail

7th September 2025 - this Pied Wagtail was seen by Andy M catching flies around the largely dry pools near the gym on Granta Park. This slightly scruffy individual is in the process of changing its feathers, which happens over several months each autumn.

Common Sandpiper drops in on GP lake

7th September 2025 - a Common Sandpiper was seen feeding around the edges of the Granta Park lake recently, and by carefully edging closer to it, Andy M was able to get these photos. Characterised by a white shoulder 'hook', plain brown back and by bobbing tail movement.

Common Sandpiper mostly breed in upland northern and western Britain, migrating at this time of year to lowland freshwater and the coast. Birds from Scandinavia also pass through Eastern UK on migration. This bird is unlikely to remain long at Granta Park, and was likely to be feeding prior to continuing its journey south.

Migrant Hawker on the wing

7th September 2025 - Andy M spotted a Migrant Hawker dragonfly patrolling over the Granta Park lake, and set himself the challenge of photographing it in flight. After many failed attempts, he got these shots. 

Migrant Hawker is one of the few dragonfly species that fly well into autumn, being seen as late as October. Similar to a Common Hawker in appearance, but has a narrow yellow triangle on the second segment of abdomen (S2), and a brown front edge (costa) to the wings (not yellow as in the Common Hawker). Both Migrant and Common Hawker also lack the large yellow 'headlights' on the front of the thorax of the Southern Hawker.

Mandarin Duck

7th September 2025 - this male Mandarin Duck was spotted by Andy M on the Granta Park lake recently. This individual is in eclipse, the period when it renews its feathers, and so does not have the flashy spring plumage characteristic of the male and appears similar to the female, but retains the male's red bill.

August 2025 - Summary of Sightings in The Abingtons

Amphibians and Reptiles

A Common Frog seen on a regular basis in a pond in Bourn Bridge Road, and three Common Frog were also noted together with 20+ adult and eft Smooth Newt on Church Lane whilst clearing algae from the pond. Numerous Smooth Newt were also seen in a pond on Bourn Bridge Rd, as well as dragonfly nymphs. Please remember to report in your sightings as Gaynor seems sure there are a lot more amphibians around.

Birds 

A total of 52 species were recorded in 373 reports this month, from ten reporters. A Quail was heard calling over Lewis Cres one evening. There was also an unverified report of a Cetti’s Warbler calling at night. Two Spotted Flycatcher were seen, as were as both Nuthatch and Treecreeper, and there were several sightings of a Kingfisher along the river.

The characteristic ‘wet-m-lips’ call of a Quail was heard at 11pm over Lewis Cres on 20th. This represents the first record of this species in the Abingtons and is believed to be a migrating bird. Similarly, a dispersing Cetti’s Warbler may have been heard calling from the river one evening (24th) but this report remains tentative.

An adult and juvenile Spotted Flycatcher were seen feeding near the river on GP (10th), the only reports this year, and a Kingfisher was spotted both near Bourn Bridge and the Sluice on 10th (same bird?), as well as near Bourn Bridge on 26th. A Little Egret was also seen along the river by the recreation ground. A Nuthatch continues to be seen in a LA High St garden, and a Treecreeper was again spotted at Hall Farm.

Young Swallow were reported in the nest on 2nd, and flocks of 10-20 were reported on the LSA, as well as lower numbers elsewhere. Good numbers (20-30) of House Martin were seen gathering at several sites throughout the month, with 50+ seen feeding over Lewis Cres on 11th. Chiffchaff and Blackcap continue to be reported occasionally, and a Reed Warbler was seen in the reedbed around the GP lake.

On GP lake, three Barnacle Goose were joined by a pair of Little Grebe, and a pair of Great Crested Grebe with a juvenile. Two female Mandarin Duck were also seen there, along with a further five female/young on the river in Lagdens’ Grove.  Around 12 Mallard in eclipse plumage, several Moorhen and two Grey Heron were also spotted there.

A noisy Buzzard was frequently reported overhead, this likely to be a dispersing juvenile, and two were seen at Hall Farm. A Red Kite was also regularly seen, with a Kestrel and Sparrowhawk being more occasionally spotted, and a Tawny Owl heard near the High St. Both Great Spotted Woodpecker and Green Woodpecker were regularly reported at a variety of sites. A few Pied Wagtail were seen on the LSA, as well as a flock of 10 flying over Lewis Cres on several evenings. A Goldcrest was seen on Hall farm, and Jay and Song Thrush seen at several sites. A ‘mischief’ of a dozen Magpie was also spotted chasing off a squirrel on Hall Farm.

Butterflies and other Insects

A total of 178 reports of insects/invertebrates were received in August, slightly fewer than for June (184 reports) and July (254 reports).

Butterflies - seventeen species of butterfly were seen this month with the most frequently reported species being Meadow Brown (21 reports) and both Large White and Small White (18 and 22 reports). Gatekeeper numbers were also good (12 reports), with several individuals often seen at once. Brimstone was seen frequently in the early months of the year, but was spotted only four times in August, largely due to the new season’s brood having not yet all hatched. A species not yet reported this year was a single Small Copper seen on 10th on Granta Park. Butterfly numbers this year have been reported to be generally good nationwide, following a bad butterfly year in 2024, However some species seem to have faired less well in our area. Species reported only once this month were Holly Blue, Small Heath and, rather surprisingly, Small Tortoiseshell. There were also only two reports of Painted Lady, another species often seen more frequently.

Odonata - six damselfly & dragonfly species were seen in 10 reports. The only damselflies were Common Blue Damselfly and Blue-tailed Damselfly, both seen on Granta Park on 10th. Of the dragonflies, Common Darter was reported from three locations including Granta Park, and a possible sighting of Ruddy Darter was also reported. Broad-bodied Chaser was seen on Granta Park on 10th and a Southern Hawker in a Lewis Cres garden on 6th. Two reports of an unidentified dragonfly were also received.

Bees - Buff-tailed, White-tailed and Red-tailed Bumblebee continue to be seen regularly and there was also single reports of both Tree Bumblebee and Common Carder Bee.

Others - two striking moth species have been reported several times this month; the Hummingbird Hawkmoth (17 reports throughout the month) and the Jersey Tiger Moth, a dramatic black, white and red species (7 reports). Other notable species reported were European Hornet seen in several gardens, and a Wasp Spider, a strikingly striped female and much smaller male, on the LSA on 4th.

Mammals

Bat – several seen regularly throughout the month over a Bourn Bridge Rd garden, as well as over gardens on Cambridge Rd and High Street, GA.

Field Mouse – one ran across in front of a person running on 12th in LA.

Hare – one seen in the meadow near Illumina on 10th, and one in a field by Pampisford Rd on 12th.

Muntjac - heard in a High St, GA garden throughout the month.

Stoat – one was seen on 17th and 24th in a Cambridge Rd garden.

Weather

At long last some rain! A total of 27.5mm, most of which fell in the last four days of the month. The average for August is just under 60mm. The highest temperature was 34.9 degrees C (12th) and the lowest 5.8 degrees C (22nd). Winds were generally light and from a west to south-westerly direction, though northerlies persisted for a week mid-month.

NatureWatch events

The River Sampling group met on 21st (see blog for results), and our final trip of the year planned along The Roman Road was cancelled. The full programme can be viewed on the ANW blog here, 2025 Programme Link.

Many thanks to all those who contributed their sightings this month. 

Roger Dufresne, David & Gaynor Farrant, Carole McCrae, Len Mead, Andy & Polly Merryweather, Joan Nevin, Barbara Phippen, Marion Rusted, Gill Smith, Suzan Stewart, John & Maggie Turner, Derek Turnidge.

Abbreviations: GA - Great Abington, LA – Little Abington, LSA – Land Settlement Association, GP – Granta Park, ORC – Old Railway Cutting, AbPkFm – Abington Park Farm.

Swallow and House Martin gatherings

24th August 2025 - both Swallow and House Martin have been gathering in larger flocks recently, these mostly being this year's young. David F captured these Swallow on the wires near Sluice Wood, and Maggie T took a short video of a House Martin flock feeding over trees near Hall Farm on 21st.

Adult and young Swallow, the adults having the longer tail feathers

House Martin flock feeding [click on central arrow twice to view]

River Sampling - August results

21st August 2025 - the Nature Watch RiverCare team undertook their usual sampling of the river at Abington Ford, and the results are shown below. The river was running very low, barely filling the bed by the ford, and the sample was similarly low. There were a few Olive and Mayfly larvae and reasonable numbers of Gammarus, and a damselfly nymph, along with several small Signal Crayfish and a Bullhead.

 

Olive larva (left) & Blue-winged Olive larva

Mayfly larva

Signal Crayfish

Damselfly nymph

Pond Skater

Bullhead

[photos Andy M]

Common Darter

17th August 2025 - David F spotted this rather nice male Common Darter by his pond recently.

European Hornet

17th August 2025 - as is often the case at this time of year, there have been a few sightings of the European Hornet - similar to a rather alarmingly large Common Wasp. David F saw some drinking from his pond.

Fungus

11th August 2025 - Derek T spotted this interesting fungus on rotting wood on the recreation ground.

Hummingbird Hawk-moth

10th August 2025 - there have been more Hummingbird Hawk-moth around of late, and Andy M spotted this one zipping around the meadow on Granta Park.

Blue, Brown and Copper

10th August 2025 - there were still good numbers of butterflies around early in the month, and the meadow beside Granta Park lake held good numbers of the smaller blues and coppers. The Common Blue males were easy to spot, with their eye-catching blue wings, and the Brown Argus (confusingly also a 'blue') has striking bright orange spots along the edges of the dark brown wings. Similarly striking were the small but even brighter orange underwings of the Small Copper.

Common Blue male

Brown Argus female

Small Copper

Green Woodpecker juvenile

10th August 2025 - there seem to have been more sightings of Green Woodpecker this month, and that's largely because their numbers have been swollen by this year's juveniles, easily distinguished from the adults in that they have speckled head and breast plumage.

Blue Damselfly species

10th August 2025 - the surface of the lake on Granta Park seemed to be shimmering, and on closer inspection one could see that just above the surface were flying hundreds if not thousands of damselflies. At a distance they were hard to identify, but on the bank Andy M was able to pick out a mating pair of Common Blue Damselfly, and a displaying Blue-tailed Damselfly.

Common Blue Damselfly male - blue abdomen with black bands

Common Blue Damselfly mating pair, the female being pale green

Blue-tailed Damselfly male displaying. 

Dark abdomen with a blue tip

Great Crested Grebe family

10th August 2025 - the Great Crested Grebe pair on Granta Park lake have been successful in raising a family this year, and Andy M saw this by-now well grown juvenile still following the parents around, begging for food. He also saw a female, or juvenile, Mandarin Duck on the lake.

A well-grown juvenile and an adult Great Crested Grebe

Adult Great Crested Grebe

Female-type Mandarin Duck 

(ie female or juvenile - the plumage being the same)

Common Darter - two ways

10th August 2025 - this Common Darter dragonfly was spending much of its time patrolling over a small patch of the Granta Park lake, and with some patience, Andy M managed to get a couple of photos of it in flight. Those taken while it was resting on a twig were considerably easier!